13Feb
Six Social Media Tips

Each year, the Centurion Show does a great job of bringing in the very best experts and retailers to speak.

This year was no different, and the highlight for me was Randi Zuckerberg of R to Z Media (formerly of Facebook) as moderator of a panel of social media savvy retailers, Daniel Gordon of Samuel Gordon Jewelers (Oklahoma City, OK), Colleen Rafferty of Christensen & Rafferty Fine Jewelry (San Francisco, CA), and Kimberly Adams Russell of Frank Adams Jewelers (Albany, NY).

Here were a few social media-related tips I picked up during the session:

Designate someone on your staff to be your “community manager” and manage your social media presence full-time, says Zuckerberg. It’s too important to it to be a hit-and-miss effort that you attend to “when you have the time.”

Consider how tech savvy potential employees are before you hire them, advises Daniel Gordon. A tech or social media savvy employee is more likely to connect with customers more often (through texting or social media) than someone who isn’t.

Use “Hangout” on Google+ to invite customers to watch/comment on red carpet events together, says Zuckerberg. It’s more personal and more exciting (since it’s “real time”) than just writing a blog after the fact, and it’s also more interactive.

Post red carpet photos and information daily on Facebook, always calling attention to brands and trends in the photos that are carried in your store, says Rafferty.

When you’re at a jewelry show, take pictures of jewelry you think particular customers will like and text the picture to them, says Gordon. They may very well agree to buy it on the spot, and they’ll be impressed a) that you’re at an industry show looking at the newest jewelry, and b) that you were thinking of them.

Run your Facebook promotions through third-party apps like Wildfire or North Social to be sure you’re in legal compliance, says Gordon. There are laws against running certain types of contests or giveaways on Facebook, but these third-party apps will walk you through how to do it legally.

Trace Shelton is the editor-in-chief of INSTORE Magazine. His current favorite topics to cover include social media, marketing, and store environment, but you could also get him excited about merchandising and sales if you’ve got something new to say.